As the ‘paid content’ war continues publishers are faced with yet another digital challenge: that of justifying the revenue that content is bringing into the business.

The concept is known as measuring the ‘return on content’ (ROC). It is also a fairly new territory for publishers to navigate; but it could also arguably be regarded as the dream asset to have as it helps them manage their balance sheets – much like Coca Cola’s secret recipe.

Linked to advertising sales, the theory is that publishers use technology to measure the performance of stories (traffic to and dwell time on) and advertising, and how much revenue they are generating. Having this information enables them to streamline their publishing operations from both a content and advertising delivery perspective to make sure they are delivering the best product to both parties.

For instance think of the power that a publisher can have at their fingertips if they are able to work out which piece of editorial (or journalist) is drawing readers to the site; and how long they are they reading a story for? Or, if the advertising sold against this article is generating click-throughs while it’s being read.

Having the ability to work out whether a piece of content is expensive to produce, and whether its producing the expected ‘return on content’ is powerful knowledge to have. Knowing the performance that content and advertising is delivering can truly help publishers grow their business.